Weight Loss Made Easy

The struggle is real. Many people suffer the self-inflicted torture of counting calories or fat grams, choosing the South Beach, Atkins or some other diet plan, or just deciding on how many tasty freeze pops they can eat in a single night. I know I do!

Personally, I use a Fitbit Blaze to help me count calories in order to stay healthy and lose weight. So far, it has worked phenomenally well! Maybe a little too well. Recently, it told me four French twists, or cream horns (or whatever you want to call them!), contain 1,380 calories!

Beware, though, users of Fitbits! Large calorie items sometimes get deleted out of the Fitbit app on your cell phone. Perhaps my phone didn't have enough memory to store all those calories in my calorie diary. I'll be looking into that. Again.

Regardless, I've come to the realization that I've been going about this health kick, weight loss program all wrong. The true key to weight loss is your scale that you use!

The Randomizer, in all its glory!

I came home from a week long vacation the other day worried about my numbers due to all the junk I ate. I put off getting on the scale until the following morning. Imagine my surprise when I saw, displayed in the little screen, the number 188.6. Holy smokes! I was down about three pounds from my pre-vacation weight! Wow! How amazing am I?

That's when I made a serious mistake. I thought, 'I'll just step on it one more time just to make certain.' Imagine my surprise when the number 202.2 pops up. I stepped on it three more times within a two minute period and spied 197.8, 192.5 and 199.3.

I have since come up with a name for my scale. I call him the Randomizer.

My newest weight loss plan? I'll simply continue using Randomizer, my sometimes weight-friendly scale. However, I'll only enter my weight into my app when a number comes up lower than the previous number I entered.

I'm hoping for a good number tomorrow morning!

Fishing Guide for Hire

I love fishing. Just holding a pole and casting it out on the water gives me a thrill. Having a hook on the end makes it even better. Even MORE fun is actually catching fish, though that is not always the main reason for going fishing.

I recently got to act as a fishing guide for my good friend Nic. I took him to all my special spots, which will remain unnamed and unrecorded, of course, where I have hooked some amazing monstrosities! Nic did most of the fishing since I was essentially the guide for the trip.

We both hooked into a couple of monsters early in the day. They were crafty ones, though. Mine danced on the surface and threw my hook. Nic's monster just took his lure.

Now I know you're probably thinking 'what fishing guide loses fish and lures?' Well, it happens to the best of us. Professional golfers lose the occasional ball. Professional fishing guides lose the occasional fish. And lure.

Not an actual bream.

As the day progressed, we found some large catfish. We also chased some stinking, big carp. On top of that, we watched an osprey catch a fish, an eagle take off, a dead and a live snake, some loons catch fish, some fish jump, herons and egrets wading and fishing, and someone noodling at the side of the lake. I even procured a sunburn on the insides of my knees. It was quite a productive day!

Not an actual pumpkinseed.

At the end of the day, I whipped out my secret weapon, my trusty fly rod, and proceeded to catch a pumpkin seed and two bream. While not the actual fish I caught, the two pictures that I've included are mostly reasonable facsimiles to the fish I caught. Somewhat.

Regardless, I'm considering yet another career change. I may have a bright future ahead of me as a fishing guide!

Fabulous NC Images

Ginga, the name my son and other grandkids affectionately used for my mother-in-law, passed away recently. Simply put, she was a great person and I feel like a better person for having known her.

Pictured below is some of the handiwork she left behind. Ginga loved flowers and, each Spring, landscaped her yard to the best of her abilities. Translation, her yard was beautiful, bursting with vibrant, happy colors!

I usually prefer funny posts, but this one's for you, Ginga. Pictured above is one of the daisies she had planted by the side of her driveway. This year, the side of her driveway is picture perfect, abounding with daisies.